Fish, Streams, and Water Quality

New study suggests that smallmouth bass and channel catfish are changing what they eat to avoid having to compete with or being eaten by the invader

Fish diseases in freshwater ecosystems pose significant ecological and socioeconomic challenges; yet, monitoring them in wild populations is complex due to interactions between pathogens, hosts, and environmental conditions. External DELT (deformity, erosion, lesion, tumor, and parasite) data (fig. 1) provide a rapid and broad measure of fish health but are a relatively coarse indicator that...

The Chesapeake Bay provides over $100 billion in annual economic value and is home to 18 million people. The USGS, including scientists from the Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC), works with Federal, State, local, and academic partners to provide research and monitoring and to communicate results to inform management for the Chesapeake and other important landscapes across the Nation.

The reuse of municipal wastewater provides multiple benefits, including maintaining stream flow, recharging aquifers, and providing public water supply. However, along with the benefits are concerns related to the presence of ‘forever’ chemicals, like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater discharge. Managing PFAS in waterways is challenging because there are many potential PFAS...

Human activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed can negatively affect the abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate communities in freshwater streams, which is a core measure of stream health. For example, urban development and agricultural intensification can degrade habitat and water-quality conditions in streams through sedimentation, nutrient runoff, and changes to instream habitat. A...

USGS provides monitoring, analysis, modeling and research on streams and water quality to better understand the fate and transport of nutrients and sediment to the Susquehanna and other rivers, and their tributaries, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay. Additional research focuses on emerging contaminants and other stressors that effect human and aquatic life in the watershed and estuary.

The USGS has computed nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and trends through water year 2023 in Chesapeake Bay rivers. These monitoring-based estimates help federal, state, and local managers evaluate and plan water-quality restoration strategies.

USGS is helping with the design of a population survey and developing mathematical models to assess potential activities to manage the population of invasive blue catfish ( Ictalurus furcatus) in the Chesapeake Bay. This research will help managers determine the cost and feasibility of approaches to control this invasive species.

Through collaboration and coordination, USGS research helps preserve and restore America’s most iconic landscapes. We apply insights across ecosystems to understand how these systems function and change, helping natural resource managers protect our Nation’s natural heritage for generations to come.

As a home to 18 million people and a destination for countless visitors seeking recreational opportunities, the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed is of critical importance. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a leading provider of data-driven insights about the condition of the watershed’s lands, waters, fish, and wildlife. These insights and our collaborative work with partners throughout...

The findings of this study show that salinity is elevated above background levels throughout most freshwater streams within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This information can help prioritize salt management strategies for local streams and rivers.

USGS is studying the spread and effects of “blotchy bass syndrome” on black basses ( Micropterus spp). USGS and state agencies have partnered with citizen scientists and recreational organizations to create a continent-wide biosurveillance network to monitor the syndrome.